UPDATE (Jan. 29 - 10:00 AM): I just received a very encouraging phone call from Terry Lathan, the chairman of the AL Republican Party. She assured me that the state party is deeply and securely committed to ending abortion in our state. She is contacting everyone who works in her office and attempting to reach the president of the Eastern Area Republican Club to find out who, if anyone, advised him to oppose my resolution.

UPDATE (Jan. 29 - 11:45 AM): Mrs. Lathan called me back to say that she has heard from everyone in her office, and no one can recall ever discussing my resolution with the President of the Eastern Area Republican Club. As a former counselor for Sav-A-Life, She was very upset that anyone would even suggest that her office was opposed to a resolution calling for a bill to end abortion. I appreciate Mrs. Lathan's quick response, and I hope that she is able to get in touch with the President of the Eastern Area Republican Club in order to resolve this issue.________________________________________________

On August 27, 2015, I introduced a resolution before the Eastern Area Republican Club of Birmingham, AL. The resolution was simply that the club would encourage our legislators, the county and state parties and other Republican clubs to work together to pass a bill guaranteeing 14th Amendment protection for prenatal children. In other words, I presented a resolution calling for the club to do exactly what every Republican Party Platform since 1976 has said that Republicans should do.

After presenting the resolution, I was shocked to hear two ladies in the club raise very vocal opposition to it. They presented all of the typical Democrat talking points in favor of abortion, and argued that it would be wrong for the club to pass my resolution. Their opposition was so adamant that the club President decided to table the discussion until the next meeting.

At the close of the next meeting, September 24th, the President announced that the issue was just too divisive for the club to vote on. He then announced that he was invoking his authority as President of the club to table the resolution indefinitely without a vote. He claimed that he had come to this decision because some of the members of the club had threatened to leave if my resolution was even brought up for a vote.

During the following meeting, October 29th, I explained to the club that I had read through our bylaws and Robert’s Rules of Order and found that the President had no authority to table a resolution without a vote from the members of the club. The President then confided to us that he had contacted the state party regarding my resolution and that they had advised him that it was far too dangerous to the party for him to allow it to come up for a vote. He again said that he was tabling the resolution, but when I did not relent, he suggested that we form a committee to review the resolution and present their opinion of it at the next meeting. This suggestion was agreed to by all with the caveat that a vote would be permitted after the committee’s opinion was heard.

On January 27, 2016, one day before our next scheduled meeting, the President of the club contacted me to inform me that the resolution committee had decided not to allow my resolution to be brought up for a vote. I thanked him for letting me know, and the following evening, I announced to the club that the President was continuing to violate the rules in order to block any vote on my resolution. I asked again for a vote to be called, and when the President refused, I announced my resignation from the club and left the room.

So what exactly was this resolution that has an entire state party running scared? Well, I’ve copied it below in its entirety. It’s not some terrorist manifesto, and I’m pretty sure it’s not the ravings of a lunatic. It’s just a simple call for Republicans to actually be Republicans. Here is the resolution that the Alabama Republican Party advised the Eastern Area Republican Club not even to vote on much less adopt:

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Bill Fortenberry is a Christian philosopher and historian in Birmingham, AL. Bill's work has been cited in several legal journals, and he has appeared as a guest on shows including The Dr. Gina Show, The Michael Hart Show, and Real Science Radio.

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"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." (Proverbs 9:9)